You
by LexyLeigh8903
Summary: BabeStory: The beginning will be angsty and Steph is a changed person now. Some possible StephLester action, but StephBatman will prevail! Please R
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, save a few characters that I made up. JE owns it all! I wish she would lend me Ranger on occasion though.

**Chapter 1**

My name is Stephanie Plum and I am a Bounty Hunter. When I was little I wanted to be Wonder Woman and tried jumping off the roof, trying to fly. I was so mad when I was told to come down. Things have a way of not going my way in my life, but whatever happens I have learned how to deal. The funny thing about my life, even though I have had many attempts on it, the most recent being the Slayers trying to kill me in a gang fight, I always come out alive. Most of the time I am rescued by Ranger, the hottest Latino mercenary walking this planet, whom I like to call batman. He acts like he doesn't want me to call him that but deep down it makes his ego swell. He and I have had a rocky "thing". I wouldn't exactly call it a relationship because the one glorious night we spent together in his bed, he sent me back to Morelli, my on-again off-again boyfriend, the next morning. He has told me that he loves me in his own way, but his life doesn't lend itself to relationships. My thoughts about this is it's all a crock of shit, but I would never voice that to him. He would ship me off to a third world country and I would never be seen again. He has that kind of money and power. I'm sure you are wondering by now why I am telling you all of this, but I promise I have a point. And here it is...

Anyone who has seen Ranger and I together for more than five seconds knows that I am madly in love with him. It's been six months since the Slayer incident and I still can't get him off of my mind. He saved me that night and while we were still at the scene, paramedics swarming everywhere, he took me in his arms and kissed my cheek lightly. Coming from Ranger, it felt like a profession of love for me. I have come to realize that I was very, very wrong. Without a word from my Batman, he disappeared and has been gone with no contact to me for six months. This has been a very gruesome six months for me to say the least. The first three were the hardest. I was sad and scared that he was hurt, or even worse dead. When the fourth month hit, all of my sadness and fear turned into anger. He had left me on the edge of a cliff, no word that he was leaving and no word when he would be back. Tank had been tailing me everywhere I went, which only made me even more upset. I went into training after the third month and really got into it. Although I trained at the Rangeman building, none of the guys spoke to me, except for Lester. We would spar together and occasionally grab a bite to eat or go a see a movie. He wanted more but nothing else ever happened. He had always had a thing for me, and I had to admit he was cute, as most of the merry men were, but now all I could think about was getting into shape. If Ranger wanted to cut ties with me the way he did then he could have told me face to face instead of running like a coward. He had made his decision and now I had made mine. It was time to turn over a new leaf.

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I stepped out into the sun outside the office after getting my four body receipts cashed. I now had around 4,000 dollars in my pocket that was going straight to the bank. Since I had been training I had gotten a lot better at my job and I was proud to say that my back account was a lot healthier than it used to be. I had saved up around 100,000 dollars, which is a lot for me. I was saving up enough to buy a house and a car at the same time, with some money left over and after the four body receipts I cashed this morning I was going to be adding 4 more grand to that account.

I was exhausted. I had been up all night, catching them, dragging them in. I had even done a stake-out with Lester at around 2 and we had gotten some vital information. Afterwards he headed back to the Rangeman building and I headed back to my apartment. I slept for about 5 hours and my body decided it was time to get up. I figured I had had enough excitement for the day and decided to head back to my apartment and see Rex. As I walked through the front door I glanced at my answering machine out of habit, and found no messages. No news was good news I guess. I had become a bit of a hollow shell in the past few months. I hardly ever laughed, or goofed off, or even went on shopping sprees like before. I didn't eat junk food, I didn't drink a lot anymore. My life had turned up a bit.

I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and signed on to my computer, connecting to the internet at lightning speed and loaded up my e-mail. The only reason I went to the office now days was to cash my body receipts. I had Connie email all of my skip information to me so I could get up, check what I had to do for the day, and head out without having to make many stops. I had no new skips in my inbox but I had an email from Lester. I smiled, clicking on the link to open the message.

Bombshell,

Hey girlie, how are things? Thanks for the help last night. We should do it again some time and I know you are just dying to work with me again so you can stare at me all night. Haha, just kidding. Well you want to catch that new horror movie this weekend? I'll buy dinner beforehand. Pino's? Sound good? Let me know, and I'll give you a call later.

--Les (The Sexiest Man Alive)

I laughed at his message and shook my head. I swear that man is going to be the death of me.

I needed a shower and then I needed a nap. I was feeling rather tired this evening. I padded to the bathroom, stripped, throwing my clothes in the dirty hamper, and stepped into the warm spray of water, pulling the shower curtain closed.

I used to cry in the shower, because I couldn't help the feeling of hopelessness when it came to my situation with Ranger. Now days I become numb. I lather, rinse, and repeat with shampoo, conditioner, shave, body wash. My routine, it never changes, and never leaves me any surprises. I have come to like it that way a bit. It gives me time to think because my routine is so mechanical and automatic for me, I don't have to focus on what I'm doing. It just happens, and I think about what I need to do, what I did today, and plan out the rest of my week, which is subject to change at any moment, depending on if I get any new skips in.

Stepping out of the shower and wrapping my towel around me, I heard my cell phone singing to me. "Before He Cheats" from Carrie Underwood was playing and I had a gut feeling I knew who was calling. I padded out of the bathroom and grabbed my cell from the bedside table where it had been charging. Sure enough, the caller ID read out Morelli. I sighed and flipped the phone open.

Morelli and I broke up after the slayer incident because he pretty much told me that I needed to ditch Ranger, never speak to him again, and marry him. He also told me I had to quit my job as a bounty hunter when we got married. I told him to go fuck himself. We haven't really talked much since then and I had a feeling he wouldn't try to contact me again. I guess I was wrong.

"What?," I said, annoyance evident in my voice.

"That's a really nice way to answer the phone cupcake," he said, amusement in his voice.

"What do you want Joe?"

"I just thought I would let you know that your boyfriend was back in town," he said with an arrogant tone, and then disconnected.

I dropped my phone and the only words that would come out were "Oh shit."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of JE's characters, although I would like to borrow Ranger!!!

Author's Note: Didn't get any reviews so far but I hope to get some soon! I am also writing another story so check it out if you get the chance. R&R PLEASE!!! I need some inspiration.

**Where We Left Off:**

_"What do you want Joe?"_

_"I just thought I would let you know that your boyfriend was back in town," he said with an arrogant tone, and then disconnected._

_I dropped my phone and the only words that would come out were "Oh shit."_

_------------------------------------_

I clutched my towel to my chest and sat abruptly on the side of the bed. I couldn't think anything besides Ranger thoughts. He was back? Since when? I figured I would be able to deal with it when the time came but I didn't think it would be this soon. I knew I couldn't face him right now. I could always hide out in my apartment and act like I didn't know he was back. I shook that plan off as soon as it crossed my mind. Ranger knew my spidey senses would tingle now if he came within a mile of my apartment building. I figured I would be getting more and more phone calls informing me that he was back. I had the sudden urge to see Mary Lou. 

Picking up my cell from the floor, I found her number, pressing the send button. When she answered I smiled when I heard the tone of her voice. "Hey Lou, would you mind accepting an old friend back and some lunch at Pino's?," I said with a grin, hoping she would accept.

"Sure Steph, I'll meet you there tomorrow at noon okay? The kids will be in school so I won't have to worry about getting a sitter."

"Noon would be great! I'm buying," I said with a smile and disconnected. I couldn't wait to see my best friend. I needed to talk to her about Ranger and what to do. She always did know what to do.

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I awoke in my t-shirt, barely remembering changing into it. I took the straightening iron to my hair and the end product turned out very good. I swiped a few layers of mascara on my lashes, sweeped some cherry lip gloss across my lips, and applied a little blush. I was ready to go. I had a pair of low slung jeans on and a white tank top on, with a strapless bra supporting what little I had. I had to admit that I looked pretty good. It was 11:40 and I wanted to get to Pino's a bit early so I headed out to my car and it roared to life. I motored on over to Pino's and ordered a beer, waiting for Lou to get there.

When she arrived I jumped up and hugged her tightly. She gave me a worried look, but a friendly smile and sat down at the table with me, and ordered a beer for herself. I paid the waitress for our beers and ordered a large pepperoni pizza with black olives. We caught up for a bit on all the gossip and how her kids and her husband were doing and I promised to come to the Christmas Pageant for her kids this year, although I wasn't sure if I would still be living in this area at that time. She finally gave me a look that said, 'Okay spill.'

"Steph, seriously, what's bothering you? I know when there is something wrong?," she stated clearly. She was right, I couldn't keep stalling. It was eating me up inside. I explained about everything that had happened over the past six months.

"And then last night Joe calls and he's being an asshole so I asked him what he wanted and he said that he thought I should know that my boyfriend was back in town. He always refers to Ranger as that. He hung up and I didn't know what to do. I tried to think of something all night, and didn't get hardly a wink of sleep. Oh Lou, I just don't know what to do. I wouldn't even be able to function if I were to see him," I said, breaking down crying in my friends arms.

"Shh, Steph, it's okay, I'm here for you hon. Just calm down and breathe. You are slobbering on my shirt, haha," she said with a pause. She sighed and shook her head, placing a kiss to my hair. "I know he has hurt you, but maybe he had a reason for being away for so long. You just have to talk to him when you feel you are ready and tell him how you feel. I know you don't want to and I know you are going to be stubborn as hell about admitting this but you love him. I know you love him. Everyone does. I think that is why it hurt Joe so much," she said sighing again.

I nodded through my tears, wiping them away lightly, making sure I had no mascara running down my face. I laughed a bit.

"I keep making a mess of things. My heart won't seem to stay mended. I've tried to block out my feelings for him for about 3 months now but it's just not working now that I know I will have to face him. I'm scared Lou. I'm afraid I will break, or go crazy or something. I know I'm crazy already but I don't want to be admitted anywhere," I said with a light laugh.

We were interrupted by the door to Pino's opening and the person who had entered was temporarily unable to be seen from the glare coming in behind them. I looked up to see none other than Joe, walking toward me with a crazed look on his face. I groaned and shook my head. He was the last person I wanted to see right now.

"Hey Cupcake," he said smiling in an inhuman way it seemed like. He just didn't look like Joe.

"Don't call me that. I'm not your Cupcake. I will never be your Cupcake again. If you could kindly leave, I would like to finish talking to Mary Lou," I said with a stone cold voice.

"Look, I need to talk to you outside for a minute. A little heart to heart with my one and only," he said, grinning and stuffing his hands in his pockets. What was with this guy?!

"NO JOE! Please leave me alone. I don't want to have to call the police on you," I said, regretting it the moment it came out of my mouth.

"I AM the police honey. They wouldn't do a damn thing to me. Now if you would kindly step outside with me, I need to have a word with you," he said grabbing my arm and trying to pull me out of my seat.

"LET GO OF ME JOSEPH!" I yelled! It seemed minutes before I felt him jerked away from me. Ranger had a hold of the back of his neck and he was walking him towards the front entrance of Pino's.

"The lady said to leave her alone," he said forcefully, opening the door and throwing Joe outside.

"Don't come near her again cop," he said, and slammed the door shut. He turned and looked at me giving me a tight smile, barely visible to the untrained eye, but I knew Ranger well enough he was giving me a forced smile. I laid my head back on Lou's shoulder and started crying again. I felt him take my hand and he placed one finger under my chin and lifted my head up to face him.

"Babe, I need to talk to you, please?," he asked, his eyes showing a pleading look.

I looked to Mary Lou for help, but she simply gave me a loving smile and a nudge. "Go ahead hon. You need to do it."

I grimaced and let him lead me out of the booth and outside to stand beside his car.

"What Ranger? I haven't seen you or heard anything from you in six months? What do you want?"

_Author's Note: Okay not many people are taking a big interest in this story so I hope this chapter will kick it up a notch or two. I hope it sparks some interest. Let me know what you think. I think I might do something crazy with Joe. It's sounding pretty good right now!  
READ & REVIEW!  
Lex_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Author's Note: Thankyou thankyou thankyou for all of the reviews. They've been a big help guys. You have no idea. Okay you will have to be patient with me on this particular story because I am absolutely in control of how things are going to go in this one and I am not used to this. I want this story to be a long one so just hang in there. Here is the third chapter and ENJOY!

**Where We Left Off:**

_"Babe, I need to talk to you, please?," he asked, his eyes showing a pleading look. _

_I looked to Mary Lou for help, but she simply gave me a loving smile and a nudge. "Go ahead hon. You need to do it." _

_I grimaced and let him lead me out of the booth and outside to stand beside his car. _

_"What Ranger? I haven't seen you or heard anything from you in six months? What do you want?"_

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Ranger visibly sighed and I could see the fatigue in his stance. I started to feel sorry for him but my anger would no calm itself. He tried to draw me into his arms and I pushed him away.

"What Ranger! What do you want from me?!," I said in a low voice.

"Babe, I'm sorry. I've had a very important matter that has kept me away. I hardly even had the chance to talk to Tank," he said with hurt in his eyes.

Tears formed and slowly slid down my cheeks. He tensed at the sigh of me crying. I released and audible sigh.

"It's been six months. You didn't even say goodbye...," I said in a small, unbelieving voice.

I wiped my tears away and tried to gain some strength back.

"Ranger, I have to go. I have work to do," I said, sighing again.

"Okay, but I need to talk to you further at a later time. Be expecting me," he said with a caring tone of voice, worry evident. He walked away after giving me a small smile and the porsche purred to life as he rolled away.  
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After Ranger had left I was standing on the sidewalk unsure of what to do. I pulled out my cell and texted Mary Lou to tell her that I love her and I was sorry but I had to go and get back to my apartment.

When I finally reached home I dropped a few grapes in Rex's cage and strolled over to my computer to check my skips. I had 2 FTA's and the first one had the highest reward of $5,000 dollars. I printed the information and headed out the door to catch my skip.  
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His name was Alex Smth. Wanted for rape and attempted murder. Oh boy! These kind of skips used to scared the living hell out of me but ever since my training had paid off, I had trained my brain into the zone where nothing could touch me. My zone.

Now I'm sure you are thinking that in my frame of mind, I shouldn't be putting myself in a mentally and physically demanding situation but with the way I've become, it's the contrary. When I get stressed, I zone and I get even more vigilant when catching skips.

Smith lived in an old apartment building that was just about one shooting away from being condemned, that is if someone existed that would actually have the balls to venture to this part of Stark Street. When I first had to come back here, the slayers incident would haunt me but some vacation, several hundred dollars worth of therapy, and physical, as well as mental training sessions later, I could deal with this part of town.

I came to a stop outside his apartment and cut my engine. I straightened my clothes, pulled my hair back into a tight pony tail and got my cuffs, my stun gun, and my gun. I held my stun gun in my right hand and my cuffs in my left, an extra set of cuffs stashed in my back pocket. I had a strategy.

As he opened the door I would shove the stun gun into his nuts. If there was a struggle that I could actually control, I would drop the first set of cuffs and reach for my gun. if not, I would resort to plan B... Wing it.  
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I stood in front of his apartment door and took a deep breath. I gave myself a shake and got into my zone. As I knocked I held my breath. A younger guy answered the door and I smiled a sweet, sugary, 'come get you some' smile.

"Hi, are you Alex?," I asked sweetly. God I could be so fake.

A light sparked in his eyes and all I could see in them was lust. Inside I was convulsing and shivering, but on the outside I was the epitomy of calm as I held my charming smile.

"Yeah, I am but I would be any one you wanted me to be sugar," he said with a lust filled grin. I threw up in my mouth almost. Ick.

He reached to smooth his shirt a bit and I went for the money shot. He grabbed my arm and twisted me around, my back facing him and my arm in his tight grip behind my back, his other arm around my neck, holding me to him.

"Wrong move bitch," he growled in my ear. I had started to panic thinking that I would die in this shit hole apartment when for some reason I heard Sandra Bullock, as Gracie Hart, telling me to sing.

I grinned and whispered, "Sing."

"What the fu-," was all he could get out before I elbowed him in the ribs. Soloflex. He let out an 'oof' and I brought my left Doc Martin shoe down on his foot. Instep. Another grunt. My elbow now connected with his noce and I saw the blood dripping out. Nose. I turned fully around to face him and my right for connected hard with his family jewels. Groin. He fell to the floor and I stunned him. He immediately went limp on the floor so I sprung into action, cuffing him and dragging him out to my car. I put him in the back seat, which had no door handles and bullet proof, pretty much indestructable glass seperating the front seat from the back. A precautionary measure I took a few months ago.

When I arrived at the station I turned the stereo off and got out. I had to turn it on during the drive because Smith was calling me everything but a white girl when he had waken from his little electric shock therapy nap. I jerked him out of the car and pushed him inside.  
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I emerged twenty minutes later with my body receipt, so on the way home I dropped by the office and cashed the receipt and made a straight shot for home.  
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Upon returning home I had taken a long hot shower and changed into an old t-shirt. I ate a little bit of dinner, but I didn't have much of an appetite. I padded into my bedroom, turned off the light, crawling under the covers and immediately fell into a dreamless sleep.

When I awoke at around 4 am I knew that someone else was in the room with me. I hadn't felt this feeling in almost 7 months. I didn't know how to react to my Batman Radar going off into hyperactive mode. I raised up slowly and slightly. My eyes adjusted to the dark of the room and I saw Ranger sitting in the chair by the window with the only light coming from my alarm clocks large red letters illuminating his face just barely.

"Babe."

_**Author's Note:** Once again thanks for all the reviews and I really hope you like this chapter. I was really hoping it would be longer but oh well. I promise the next one will be!  
Lex_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: See Previous Chapters

Chapter 4

_**Author's Note: ** Okay guys, thanks for all of the reviews and I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update this story. Inspiration hasn't been close to me lately. Writer's block is horrid. I promise I will try to write more and again, thanks for all of your reviews. You've been a huge help!  
LEX_

**Where We Left Off:**  
_When I awoke at around 4 am I knew that someone else was in the room with me. I hadn't felt this feeling in almost 7 months. I didn't know how to react to my Batman Radar going off into hyperactive mode. I raised up slowly and slightly. My eyes adjusted to the dark of the room and I saw Ranger sitting in the chair by the window with the only light coming from my alarm clocks large red letters illuminating his face just barely. _

_"Babe."_

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My heart instantly contracted but I forced myself not to cry. I watched his face and a little flash of something ran across his face but I couldn't quite tell what it was. 

"Ranger," I could barely get the name out. It sounded forced, strangled almost. A pained expression shot across my face and I wanted to cry so badly, but I didn't want to scare him.

"Can we talk?"

"I don't know what to say."

"Will you listen to me now?," he asked, almost in a pleading voice.

"Yes, go ahead."

"Babe, I haven't been here for the past six months because I was having some family things that I had to deal with. I haven't had much contact with anyone here. I got a phone call the night you were rescued. It was from my daughter, Julie. She was crying and I could barely make out what she was saying. Through her tears I heard her say that her madre was dying. Rachel, my exwife, had been diagnosed with leukemia. The doctors have tried and tried for the past five months to get rid of it but it just kept coming back. Everytime it came back, she got weaker and weaker. Cancer took her naught but a month ago, and I have been with Julie in Miami. She wants to live with me, and I was trying to get to know her better before I just threw her into this new life up here," he said quietly. Normal men would have cried, but this was Batman. The hurt written on his face was enough to make me want to wrap my arms around him and hold him until I died.

"Ranger, I'm so sorry. How is Julie doing?," I asked, worry for his daughter sweeping over me.

"She is doing better but she still hurts. I have found her crying at night when it's time for her to go to bed. All I can do is hold her and tell her I love her. I don't know what else to do. She is only 13 years old Stephanie. I don't know what 10 year old girls like to do, so I am at a loss here," he said putting his head in his hands and running his fingers through his hair. The stress of the past six months was evident in the lines on his face. He just didn't look like the mercenary Ranger I had always known. He seemed more vulnerable now.

"Can I meet her?"

"Of course, I can't wait for her to meet you. From what I've told her, she thinks the world of you. She would ask me when it was close to the end for Rach what would you do in this situation, and I told her you would hold yourself together but crying was okay if she needed to. She smiled and took my hand, then asked if she could meet Wonder Woman when she got home," he said, laughter dancing through his eyes at the last part.

"Ranger! You did not tell her that I was Wonder Woman!," I said, shock registering on my face, and my hands automatically throwing a pillow at him, which he easily deflected.

"I told her that you always wanted to be Wonder Woman so you could fly, but what you don't realize is that you just have to smile and you are flying Steph."

My mouth opened and then closed itself again. Why was he doing this? Did he really, truly care? Or was this some ploy to get me in the sheets and then leave me again. I figured it was now or never to tell him about Joe.

"Morelli and I are over, as I'm sure you could tell yesterday," I said with a sigh.

"Yes, I picked up on that. Lester sent me a text a couple weeks ago letting me know too. I wanted to call so bad but all of the arrangements that had to be made for Rach and now all of the custody papers for Julie. It's just so confusing, and now I have to start staying at my actual house instead of the Haywood building because the court won't let Julie stay there. They say it's not suitable for a 13 year old girl, and they are right. Now I get to decorate a 13 year old girl's room and buy her stuff that a 13 year old girl needs. She wants to leave all of her stuff from Miami there with her step dad so she can have her room when she goes to visit him and family down there. That's where I was hoping you could help."

"Me? Why would you need me to help?," I asked, curious.

"You are a burg girl, you were once a 13 year old girl. You know what girls like, or you should so you could help Julie decorate and take her shopping and set up her room. I would appreciate it very much and I'll pay you for it if you want Steph. I just really need some help right now," he said, running his hands through his hair once again. He was tired and I could see it, extremely plain across his face. He needed sleep.

"I'll do it and don't worry about paying me. I would love to hang out with her. Ranger where is Julie now?," I asked quietly.

"She is staying with my sister in Miami for a couple more days, then she will be coming home. Why?"

"This is going against my better judgement, but come here," I said sweetly. I crooked my finger at him, motioning for him to come my way. He did as I asked and crawled across the bed to me, laying down beside me, him facing me. I cuddled into him, using his chest as a pillow like I had done so many nights before.

"No groping Carlos. You need healthy, natural sleep, and I am going to allow you to stay here with me tonight. No kissing, no fondling, no groping, and no heavy petting. Just sleep. You got that?," I asked in a light mannerism.

"Got it babe. Thank you," he said in a low voice, nuzzling his face into my hair. Then I was gone, lulled to sleep by the sound of his breathing.

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The next morning when I woke up, I was on top of Ranger with my head on his chest. I groaned and he came to full attention.

"What? What's wrong babe?," he asked immediately, giving me a once over. When he realized there was nothing wrong he grinned because I was still on top of him.

"Quit that evil grinning Carlos," I said, swatting his shoulder.

"Babe, you sounded like my madre when you said that."

"Oh great, now I sound like a mother. Fine by me as long as I don't sound like MY mother," I said with a laugh, rolling off of him and off of the bed. I headed into the living room to find my answering machine blinking angrily at me. I didn't hear the phone ring so I was either sleeping really hard or I had the ringer turned off again. I hit the play button and the first voice was my mother. I groaned.

_"Stephanie, where are you? Why haven't you called me back? I just got a call from Amelia Luciano saying that that Ranger man's car was outside your building all night. Is this true? Dinner is at 7 tonight and bring him along."_

Shaking my head I waited for the next message. Oh shit, it was Lester...

_Steph! Hey bombshell. How are things? We still on for our date tonight? Give me a call when you get this. Later._

I felt Ranger behind me and I turned with my face flushed bright red.

"Date. With Lester?," he asked, his lips tight.

"Uh, yeah. We made the date before you came back in town and I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me. This would only be like our second date," I said nervously. I didn't want Lester or myself to get shipped off to a 3rd world country.

"Are you going?," he asked, sounding a bit jealous.

"I haven't really made up my mind yet. I don't know how I feel about Lester. He's a good friend but I don't know if I could see him as anything more," I said with a tight expression across my face. I didn't really know what to say, much less what to do.

"I want to show you the house and Julie's room. So you can get ideas before you go shopping. Can you be ready in 10?," he asked, thankfully changing the subject. I nodded and sprinted to the bathroom to get away from him for a minute. I emerged 8 minutes later, a new woman and ready for the day.

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The ride to Rangeman was a silent one. He had to pick up some paperwork that he was going to fill out while I was walking through the house getting decoration ideas. The only things that were said on this ride were Ranger informing me that he wanted me to decorate the entire house. To take every room and change it to how I saw fit. I agreed, although I'm not exactly sure why, but I did.

When we reached the building I swung my legs out of the car and took off for the control room. As I walked in the door, large arms encircled me and picked me up off the floor.

"Bombshell! I was worred when you didn't call me back today," Lester said placing a kiss on my cheek. My spidey senses were tingling, informing me that Ranger had just seen that. I felt his presence behind me, intimidating and strong. Lester had put me down and was now staring at the floor.

"Sorry boss," he said in a quiet, almost inaudible voice and he returned to his seat in the control room. I turned around and gave him my apology face. His face was now blank, but I could see through to his eyes where a fire was burning hot. He looked jealous. Uh oh. He placed his hand on the small of my back and led me out of the room.

"Okay so what was that?," he asked when we were outside.

"A hug?," I questioned outloud, and it even sounded strained to myself. Was it just a hug, or to Lester was it more? I made my mind up then that if I was going to ever decide between the two men in my life, this time a new one added to the equation, I would have to go on the date with Lester tonight and if I could feel like I could actually be with him, I would give it a shot. If not, then I would tell him sorry but we had to remain friends.

"Steph, I don't mean to sound pushy but we have to get over to that house if I am going to get some of the stuff I want Julie to have ready when she gets here," he said, masking his emotions once more. I nodded and gave the guys in the control room a finger wave. Lester didn't even have the balls to turn around. Why wasn't that brave of him. Ranger led me out to the porsche and I slid in, him closing the door behind me. And again the ride commenced into silence.

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I was starting to hyperventilate. We were at the batcave. Located about 5 miles outside Trenton, Ranger's house was emaculate. When my breathing evened out, I stepped out of the vehicle and approached the house with Ranger walking in front of me. It looked to be three stories but I couldn't exactly be sure. As I stepped in through the front door behind Ranger, I gasped. I was stepping through the entry way and followed it into a great room. From there if you turned right, it would take you straight into the kitchen with an island in the middle, a gorgeous stove, dishwasher, and fridge, all in black. Everything in the kitchen was chrome and black. It was gorgeous. He placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me to the master bedroom on the first floor which had an attatched bathroom. The bathroom had a shower and a garden tub, two sinks in the counter. His and her towels were hanging on the towel racks on the left side of each sink. I sighed and ran my fingers over the 'hers' towel. He walked back into the bathroom and noticed my action. He hugged me to him and I wrapped my arms around him, letting him hold me for a moment. He pulled away gently and pulled me to the staircase. At the top you had to take an immediate right which led down a hallway of doors to each side. The first door on the right we came to was a large bedroom with a bay window and a connecting bathroom, and the next door was the door for that bathroom. The first door on the left was another large room but had a spiral staircase leading up to a loft area. I gasped and Ranger grinned. I had already made up my mind. This was Julie's room.

"Babe, so this is my house. What do you think?," he asked quietly.

"It's breathtaking. This room is Julie's for sure. It has to be. By the time I am done with it, she will LOVE IT! Do you know her favorite colors, movie stars, bands, stuff like that?," I asked excitedly. He nodded and handed me a list. Pink and black were her favorite colors. I knew she got black from her dad, but the pink must have come from Rachel. Her favorite movie stars were Johnny Depp, The Rock, Orlando Bloom, and Colin Farrell. When I saw Colin's name I got a hot flash. He was definitely nice to look at, that was for sure. Props to Julie for a good choice. As for her favorite bands she had Fall Out Boy, Blink 182, and Limp Bizkit. Interesting choices for a 13 year old girl but they could work with it. I already had an idea for the room, but it was just a matter of Ranger letting me do it. I turned to him and smiled.

"Carlos, how much control do I have over what can be done with this room?," I asked sweetly

"As much as you want babe. The house is yours to decorate." With those words I threw my arms around his neck and laughed.

"Yes! I can't wait to get started!," I exclaimed cheerfully. "Do I have a spending limit?"

"Babe, I already told you some time ago. What we give each other has no price tag."

"Right. Well I will need some time to plan this out but the first room should be done in the next 4 days so try to hold her off until then. I want it to be perfect when she gets here. Until then, I need to get back and get ready," I said, looking at the ground.

"Oh yeah, your date. Well just let me know when you would like to start shopping and I will tell the boys I am offline for a few hours," he said with a soft smile, placing his hand on the small of my back and leading me back out to the car. As I slid into the passenger seat, he squatted beside the car and placed a key in my hand. I shot him a questioning glance and he smiled.

"You now hold the key to the batcave. Guard it with your life," he said laughing. I nodded and then we headed back to my place. When he dropped me off I headed upstairs to get ready for my date with Lester.

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_**Author's Note:** Okay so there is Chapter 4. I hope you all enjoyed and chapter 5 should be underway in a couple of hours. Hope you all liked and I can't wait for the reviews!  
LEX_


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